Last Sunday, I forced myself to wake up early to eat breakfast before watching Pacquiao vs Marquez Trilogy. Among all boxing bouts I have enjoyed watching, I am quite sure that this fight is another record breaking one since I know how Mexicans fight and how Filipinos fights. They fight til the end. It's really a face to face battle in the ring.
I was hoping that I can recover from my disappointment with the previous fight of one of the Philippines' best boxers, Nonito Donaire with the seemingly statue on the ring versus Narvaez.
The undercard matches were good to watch but what I was really eager about was the final match between the two warriors, the two nemesis on the ring. When I heard Maria Aragon sang Lupang Hinirang, the national anthem of the Philippines, I felt my skin having goosebumps all over. It was one of those instances where you just feel the pride of being a Filipino. While the camera zoomed in to the two players I can see the fierce look in Marquez' face. It only showed that he's really determined to bring down Pacquiao. Looking on the other hand was the figure of the champion, pacman in his red and blue attire. I just don't know where I get the feeling that Pacquiao seemed to have lost radiance that night unlike in his other fights where he really looked aggressive. While watching, i was wondering if something was bothering him.
Then the bell rang and the first round of the match started. Clearly, the first round would be on Pacman. Though Marquez was trying to move in and throwing some punches, Pacquiao was the more aggressive one. It was too much for me to expect a knockout for Pacquiao on the 4th or 5th round. I guess I got used to it. But my predictions failed me. 5th,6th, 7th rounds passed and the events suddenly turned its tables. I can see the punches of Marquez going straight to Pacman's face. Holy Crap,I said to myself. Pacman was getting into a big trouble. He might lose this fight. But in the later rounds, Pacquiao came back again throwing deadlier punches at Dynamita.
While waiting for Michael Buffer to announce the winner, I said to myself this could be a split decision in favor of Marquez or a draw.
I was shocked when Pacquiao was announced as the winner via majority decision.
But still I jumped for joy. I am happy that he won. But some people were not.
Then I just suddenly realized, people from afar can judge based on what they see but we have to consider what the judges think. In a boxing match, they follow the so called 10 point rule to be able to win the bout. You either knockdown your opponent on his knees or win the judges scorecards.
In most cases, the defending champion has the advantage.
Some people were doubtful as to whether Pacman really won the bout. I myself was included in that group. But after watching the replay, I summarized the key points of the boxing match:
1. First is that if you are the challenger and you want to defeat the defending champion, you should knockdown the champion and be more dominant in the ring.
2. In terms of the volume of punches, Pacquiao landed more punches that Marquez.
3. Marquez is a good counter puncher but in most round we can see how Pacquiao aggressively initiates throwing power punches.
4. We can have opinions about the fight but we cannot question the decision of the judges. The verdict is final so we just respect that.
5. Pacquiao might have knockdown hall of famer Mexicans in the field of boxing but this will not always happen the way most viewers would often see.
I highly commend Marquez for being an excellent fighter but I still think that he fell short in destroying Pacquiao. Pacman won only by a thin hairline had it not been for the score in the later rounds, he could have lost the fight. In lieu of this, a rematch is possible to answer the questions and doubts of some.
Pacquiao has brought honor and pride to our country. He has opened several opportunities to his fellow boxers. Although I don't idolize him as a politician, I respect him for being one of the best boxers ever lived.
